Organizational Development Project - Essay Example

Organizational Development Project In order to assess the effectiveness of the intervention at Coca Cola, several OD tools and techniques will be utilized. These tools and techniques are mainly monitoring and evaluative tools that seek to establish the level at which the intervention has achieved its intended purpose. If the intervention meets its initial plans then the project is considered to be effective. If the results or outcome of the project do not meet the intended plans or objectives, then action plan should be developed to initiate changes that will enable the project to get back on the right track (Cummings et al 2009).

Therefore, organizational tools and techniques of ensuring the effectiveness of a project begins with the monitoring and evaluation processes and then goes to the specific action plans to initiate and manage change. One of the tools used to assess the effectiveness of the project is monitoring tool. Monitoring is an overarching process which occurs at every stage of the organizational development. It should be used at every stage of the project’s lifecycle. It should be used in Coca cola’s project to assess the effectiveness of the project at each level.

Specifically, it involves measuring performance and identifying improvements. The first step in monitoring is to identify the key factors to monitor. In the case of Coca Cola, the key factors to monitor include: risks involved, quality against plan, and cost. Monitoring is done against the initial plan. Project monitoring also enhances control and management of customer expectations. The second tool of assessing the effectiveness of the project is evaluation tool. This tool entails linking the outcome of the intervention with its initial plan.

Evaluation is used to determine the relationship between the underlying assumptions, project activities, resources and expected results of the project. It enables the project managers to determine the effectiveness of the project by showing how this relationship have succeeded or failed in achieving the desired outcome of the project (Melton 2007). In the evaluation process, special attention should be paid to various stakeholders of the company. For instance, the evaluators may attempt to measure the level of customer satisfaction following the start of the project.

The evaluation technique used should also pay a special attention to stakeholders. Stakeholders should be engaged in the evaluation process in order to determine important issues that should be addressed. Evaluators should ask the stakeholders what challenges they are facing due to the project. Employee satisfaction levels should also be measured in order to determine the level of effectiveness of the project. Evaluation should also be integrated into the project itself and the daily work of the project.

Evaluation becomes more meaningful and reliable if it is integrated with the program because useful baseline data and resources are available during the progress of the project. Once the project is completed, such data and information will not be available, and the assessment of the project’s effectiveness will be compromised. Evaluation can also be used to assess the effectiveness of the project more successfully by integrating it with daily routine work of the organization. For instance, the evaluation may involve assessment of needs at staff level.

In this regard, the project team should collaborate with various departments of the company during the evaluation process. If the above tools and techniques show that the results of the intervention deviate from the expected outcomes, various corrective actions should be undertaken. The corrective actions should be targeted on bringing the project back on track. In order to achieve this, the project team should understand various human systems. Corrective actions may be systems focused, data focused, or process focused.

The most important corrective action is change control and management. In this case, a degree of change may be desired to manipulate project’s timescale if outcome has not been achieved. In order to initiate change, flexibility should be initiated in the project (Cummings et al 2009). Change committee should be selected when the project has not achieved its desired results. This committee will assess the likely costs and benefits of the suggested change. The change is approved if it contributes positively to the project.

One of the specific corrective actions is to change specific areas of the system. A change in one system of the organization results in changes in other areas of the organization (Lawrie 2005). A change in one part of the system can also be supported by changes in other areas of the system. Action may also be initiated through action research. In this case, discoveries through research are reexamined, reflected and integrated throughout the process of change in order to achieve the desired results of the project (Melton 2007).

In this case, project team members should be involved in teamwork and dialogue about their learning and reflections so that they can use them to achieve shared results for the benefit of the project. Another corrective action is to intervene in organizational processes. If the outcome of project does not meet the desired results, then the organizational processes of the company should be changed (Melton 2007). This change in organizational processes may help the staff to achieve desired outcomes of the project.

From this report, it can be concluded that there are various tools that Coca Cola may use to assess the effectiveness of the project. These tools include: monitoring tool and evaluation tool. Monitoring tools are used to measure performance and identify improvements of the project. On the other hand, evaluation tool is used to determine the relationship between planned and actual outcomes of the project. When these tools are used and it is determined that the effectiveness of the project is not achieved, corrective action is taken through change control and management.

Specific areas of the system may be changed or action research may be initiated and integrated throughout the process of change. Works cited Cummings, Thomas G, and Christopher G. Worley. Organization Development & Change. Australia: South-Western/Cengage Learning, 2009. Print. Lawrie, Judson J. Strategic Planning and Management in Transit Agencies. Washington, D.C: Transportation Research Board, 2005. Print. Melton, Trish. Project Management Toolkit: The Basics for Project Success. Amsterdam: IChemE/Butterworth-Heinemann, 2007.

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